Apocrypha

Mike, Jane and Graham are joined by Dr Chris Tilling, New Testament specialist, to look at some thorny problems in the Bible, such as 'being baptised for the dead' in 1 Corinthians, speaking and singing in tongues, and the status of the Apocrypha. There's an extra seasonal discussion on whether Christians should teach their kids about Father Christmas!

HTB leaders past and present gather together during the church’s unusually sunny annual week away to answer questions from the congregation. Graham is joined by current vicar Nicky Gumbel and associate vicar Archie Coates, as well as worship leader Tim Hughes and former vicar of HTB, Sandy Miller, with questions deftly fielded by Andy Emerton. What is the relationship between the church and the Kingdom of God, and do Christians have a monopoly on living out the Kingdom? How should the church work with secular organisations? The panel also discuss the place of the Trinity in the theology of the Alpha Course, and of singing in worship, before moving on to the stewardship of money, and the books of the Apocrypha. They also touch on the sensitive issue of prayer ministry in the face of terminal illness.

Andy Emerton, Director of St Paul’s Theological Centre, joins the GodPod team for the first time. The team open the discussion this week with consideration of Christian ideas about souls and physicality, in contrast with Platonic and Gnostic thought. They continue with the issue of poverty and the church, and go on to look at differences in approaches to the Bible between the Catholic, Orthodox and Protestants churches, particularly the canonicity of the Apocrypha.